I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Going Feral

Here at the cabin (broadband, oh how we've missed you). Didn't take me all day to travel this time (only about six hours, missed the major tie ups in downtown Cleveland by only half an hour - yeah!). Toodled on down the road, driving through Fall at 70mph (or thereabouts). Didn't really get into the rain until Battlecreek, which I caused me to miss my exit (by turning early, quick Michigan left and I was back on).

So, now to be witty and all with my fellow peeps!

And not that it belongs anywhere, but it's good enough to write here. A few months ago I picked up one of those iPod radio broadcasters. And I just got to use it these past two weeks. And frankly, is sort of sucks. And this is one of the better name brands (coughBelkincough). Now, tonight on the way up here to the cabin I was able to find an open bandwidth and got fairly good reception with some fidelity. But back in the Cleveland market there is no such thing as "open bandwidth" on the radio. At nearly every stop on the digital radio (odd number decimal frequencies) there is at least a faint reception of some station.

So last week when I drove back from the Hamsters and I was listening to Hammett's The Long Goodbye and getting interference as well as some weird scalular whine tied to the engine revving. And at first I was very annoyed. A very annoyed Steve. Then after about ten minutes it was nostalgic and I started reliving sitting up nights as a kid listening to AM radio plays. AM was where it was at when I was a kid. Sure, FM was growing and all the cool kids were getting sucked up. But AM radio still did things the old way. And they had actual radio plays. Listening to AM is not like FM. AM has all that funky static noise, even if your receiver is stationary. You get lots of atmospheric effects coming through the speakers. It's something I remember fondly, of having to "dial in" the station (before digital tuners). It was an art. And I lost myself into the story as a young kid listening to the radio in my darkened bedroom in my grandparents' house. The light of the radio dial glowing, throwing shadows on the walls. The house settling beneath me. My grandparents, Mom, and brother watching TV in the living room downstairs.

Good memories.

And now I must post to please the Mer Goddess.

2 comments:

Dr. Phil (Physics) said...

The AM arm of the Grand Rapids public radio station has gone Oldies -- 50s, 60s and a few 70s. And with the AM static and flat tone, my god, it's perfect. It's the 60s all over again.

Dr. Phil

Steve Buchheit said...

Now that would be nostalgic. AM radio defined my childhood. I think it was high school before I really started listening to FM all that much.

There was an AM station on the outskirts of Canton. I needed to use a pay phone (another by gone tech) near the transmitter. You could just pick up the handset and listen to the station.